Case # 19HM04927
WOMAN CHARGED WITH VANDALISM AND GRAFFITI FOR POSTING NAZI PROPAGANDA POSTERS AT NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL AND FULLERTON COLLEGE
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A woman was charged today with one count of misdemeanor vandalism and two counts of misdemeanor graffiti for posting Nazi propaganda posters at Newport Harbor High School and Fullerton College.
Grace Elisabeth Ziesmer, 22, Fullerton, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of vandalism under $400 and two misdemeanor counts of graffiti. If convicted of all charges, Ziesmer faces a maximum sentence of one year and six months in Orange County Jail.
Ziesmer is scheduled to appear at the Harbor Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. on June 6, 2019.
On March 4, 2019, the defendant is accused of posting Nazi propaganda posters on city light poles near Fullerton College. Ziesmer is also accused of posting Nazi propaganda posters on Newport Harbor High School’s property on March 11,2019.
The posting of Nazi propaganda which included swastikas, SS mottos, and other neo-Nazi statements is a hate incident.
“Hate does not belong here. It does not belong anywhere,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting hate crimes and hate incidents to the fullest extent of the law. I am not going to tolerate hate in Orange County.”
Ziesmer was not charged with a hate crime enhancement due to a lack of sufficient evidence that her conduct was directed at a particular victim for being Jewish. It could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s conduct was directed at the schools because of their connection with the Jewish people or the Jewish religion, based on the evidence and interviews conducted in the case.
Deputy District Attorney Jake Jondle of the Special Prosecutions unit is prosecuting this case.